Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will hear oral argument tomorrow on the issue of whether the Valor Act permits a dismissal of an OUI charge over the prosecutor’s objection.  The case that raised this issue is Commonwealth v. Joel Morgan, which was originally  charged out of the Lowell District Court.…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will review a decision from Judge DeAngelo out of the Worcester District Court holding that field sobriety tests are unreliable when attempting to determine if a driver is under the influence of marijuana. The case was argued once before at the SJC as Judge DeAngelo…

There was no verdict in the Justin Ross Harris hot car death trial.  Lawyers delivered closing arguments in the Justin Ross trial.  The defense argued that it was an accident that Justin Ross left his infant son Cooper in a hot car that caused his death.  Ross’ lawyer Maddox Kilgore…

Last week saw the start of two high-profile shooting cases, both involving white police officers being charged with the shooting of a black civilian during a traffic stop. Given the circumstances, the cases  caught a lot of attention from the media when they individually occurred in 2015. Both incidents involve…

Under Massachusetts OUI Law, a motorist must receive a citation immediately when being charged with OUI.  In a case where a motorist is not placed under arrest, the citation provides notice to the motorist of the OUI charge.  By not providing the citation immediately, A Massachusetts OUI lawyer can seek…

The Murder trial of Justin Ross Harris will require the jury to piece together the circumstantial evidence of the prosecution and determine the intent of Harris, did he accidentally leave his son in the car as the defense content or was it intentionally, as the prosecution claims.  Monday’s opening statements…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has excluded evidence obtained from the cellphone of the defendant in Commonwealth v. Onyx White following the Boston Police’s failure to prove probable cause for the warrantless seizure of the phone.  The court affirmed that the warrantless seizure of a cell phone in the robbery-homicide…

How does the RMV in Massachusetts determine if an out-of-state DUI conviction should count as a prior offense in Massachusetts?  When a motorist is charged with an OUI offense in Massachusetts, the offense level is determined by the number of prior offenses that the person has in their lifetime. This…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a dangerousness hearing provides a prior opportunity for cross examination under the Sixth Amendment in the case of Commonwealth v. Carlos Rodriguez, decided on September 22, 2016.  The Court upheld a conviction for domestic assault and battery without the testimony of the victim,…

As a Massachusetts OUI lawyer who has represented numerous clients dealing with an OUI charge, I understand it can be extremely difficult. In this blog I want to offer some guidance on how to get through the charge. For many people it is their first time ever being arrested or…